Pastor Tan’s Testimony
I was born into a Buddhist family in the Myanmar Delta, and have two brothers and four sisters. My first wife and I had four children, but in 2003 my wife passed away. I remarried (a widow) in 2004, and together we had four children. From her previous marriage, she and her husband had four children, so together we have twelve children some of whom are grown and married.
I did not understand Christianity or the Gospel until May of 2008. My family life was falling apart, there was constant conflict between my wife and me, and our financial situation was growing dire. Then the terrible cyclone Nargis hit. Our house was destroyed with only a small portion of the floor, and a broken wall left standing. In the midst of the storm in that little corner of the house, my wife gave birth to our son. Exposed to the elements with the wind and torrential rain pouring down on us I lost all hope and thought for sure my wife and son would die. But the Lord saved us.
I had heard about Jesus but had no relationship with Him. Pastor Lat (a former White Fields church planter) shared the Gospel with us several times. The Holy Spirit touched our hearts, and we believed in God and received Jesus Christ as our Savior. We professed our faith through Baptism shortly after that, and the church came together and helped us in our marriage and finances.
Having a correct understanding of Salvation, I desire that everyone around me would get an opportunity to hear the Gospel. If they knew what their life In Christ could be, they would surely worship Him. I prayed that the Lord would use me a church planter but knew it was impossible to do because I needed to take care of my large family. I prayed diligently, and after several years the Lord opened a way for me to attend Bible Seminary. I completed my coursework and graduated two years later. While I studied, I continued to evangelize and established a new house church in my home.
The town I pastor in has around 3000 residents all of whom are Buddhists and live in poverty. Their primary source of income is to collect plastic trash clean it and sell it back to the plastic factory nearby. In addition to our evangelism efforts, we have discipleship classes several days a week. Many people are becoming believers in Jesus through our church planting efforts, and we are excited for what the future holds!